The Hell Neverending
by TJ Hix
Summary: Been a while, but Chpt 4 is here for your viewing pleasure. It's a bit of a flashback story, how Stalara wound up where she is. Great detail in my opinion, hope you enjoy.
1. Neverending Hell

**Day 29**

_"Sport and repose lock me from day and night! To desperation turn my trust and hope! An anchor's cheer in prison be my scope! Each opposite that blanks the face of joy...meet what I would have well, and it was destroyed! Both here and hence pursue me lasting strife."_

And her time remained imprisoned. The same four granite walls that had served as her seemingly permanent home were forever never changing. The same routine...visited twice a day with what looked unfit to be called food. And if they were feeling relatively quite chipped...a trip to the arena once or twice a week...however much entertainement they so desired. And she remained...locked in this neverending hell...quickly losing hope...and finding her spirit broken. She lucked out twice and managed to really impress Grimstone enough that he allowed her to see the light of day. Two days she was free...and most would jump for joy becase of that...but not her...not Stalara. It was more of a torture to her than anything else. Sure she got the chance to see people again...and actually take care of some loose ends while she was free. However, lurking in the shadows..she knew the Anvilrage clan watched her every move...and heard her every word...making sure she didn't pull anything. Stalara was fine with that though, she didn't care...the trture came when she lay her eyes upon the most beautiful sight she only could imagine.

Her eyes, her lips, her cheeks, her shapes, and her features...all drawn by loves own hand...Ayree...beauty, that transitory flower in Stalara's eyes. Was it her golden locks on ground? Her eyes of great sapphires? Teeth of hidden pearls or maybe the beautiful human's pale skin of silver sheen? Stalara truly could not figure out what it was that really drew her to this wonderful woman she had known for what seemed like forever. The woman that Stalara knew she owed the very air she breathed to, and the woman she would sacrfice her own life to save. Stalara always believed that Ayree's beauty could outshine the sun. To Stalara...Ayree was all perfection, all that the blooming earth could create...and the gaudy heavens could drop down and take back.

Stalara just leaned back against the odsidian wall of her cell...tears beginning to form in her eyes and streaming down her face. The torture was the fact that she knew that her reunion with Ayree would be shortlived...time would grow short and she would be returned to her damnation here in Blackrock Depths...where she would never get to see the light of day or her guardian angel of guidance ever again. She would either rot down here...or if she was lucky...she would suffer a quick and painless death in the arena. One slip up and it would be over. If _Elune_ didn't frown upon it so, Stalara would have taken her own dagger to her throat to end the suffering once and for all. Instead...she found only solace in the cell with her tears.

"Tis deep sorrow, Ayree. My spirit grows dull and fein I would beguile this tedious day with sadness. Alas, my fear is strong...I'm gonna lose you Ayree...but even if I do die in here...my spirit will forever be with you." Her voice was beginning to crack.

Stalara remained in the corner of her cell embraced by the darkness as she continued to cry. She was giving up on life...and she knew it. Then a sight reality hit her as she drover her head into the wall.

_"Get a hold of yourself girl."_ She said to herself. "Stalara isn't a sniveling little kid wanting her mommy. The Kaldorei are a proud race...don't allow self-pity to get you down. I'm a survivor...just like Ayree always said. What am I allowing myself to become!?"

Stalara didn't realize she had just spoke that last bit out loud until a raspy voice spoke to her through the wall.

"Hey...what's it take to get a little peace and quiet in here. Prisoners and wardens all yellin and shit?"

"My apolgies kind sir...I was unaware of the volume of my voice...or the fact that I wasn't alone in here."

The tears still streamed down her face, but she had seemed to have regained her composure a bit.

"Bah, it's quite alright milady. Trust me, I know how a place like this can seem to destroy a person's sanity. How long hve you been here anyway?"

"I...I...can't recall...to me...days and nights have all become one. I think...almost a month maybe."

"Wow...and I thought two days were bad. No wonder you're beginning to seriously crack."

"Two days?"

"Ha ha...sorry, must have been brought in while you were performing in their Ring of Law a couple of nights ago. My name is Sir Dietrich Cain of the lost kingdom of Stromgarde. And you are?"

"My name is Stalara Moonglaive of Shadowglen."

"Ah, a night elf. Well Lady Moonglaive, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Please, just call me Stalara, Sir Dietrich."

"Hah, very well, if we are gonna be formal, you may just call me Dietrich. Not that titles mean anything down here anyway."

"Indeed. Well, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Sir Die...I mean...Dietrich."

"Heh, the pleasure is mine Stalara. At least you are no longer alone down here. I'll do whatever I can to help your sanity...I may not be Ayree, but I'll do my best to help you cope."

Stalara seemed surprised. "You heard all that?"

With a slight chuckle, "Heh, you weren't exactly quiet about it. I think even Marshal Windsor heard that. She must be one hell of a lady to make someone break down like you did over her. I always took the Kaldorei as a proud race, no offense."

With a slight smile, "None taken. Yeah...Ayree is somethin."

"That much I have gathered."

"She has I know not what of, greatness in her looks and of high fate that awes me. Within the oysters shell uncouth the purest pearl may, just like within Death's cold hand hides the purest gem in my life."

"Wow...you speak with such rythm as a poet when you speak of this young lady. Almost makes me jealous. You feel something for that woman that most people have thought long abandoned the War ravaged landscapes of Azeroth and Kalimdor. I'm glad to see that there still are those who still hold dearly onto that emotion. What you have for her is far better than any treasure you'll obtain in Molten Core or Zul Gurub. You need to hang on to that with every bit of essence you call life and cherish it. For in all truth, that _treasure _is what will actually help you survive this seemingly endless hell. Does she too have these feelings for you...or is she even aware of how you feel about her?"

"I...I...honestly couldn't tell you."

"Have you ever told her?"

"Well, not in so many words. She's my beloved mentor."

"Heh...my mentor was destroyed by Deathwing..."

"I'm sorry..."

"No no milady, no worries. He died protecting his beliefs. Something all us Paladins look forward to doing. That is the death we all hope to have. Anyway, enough about all that. What got you locked up in here in the first place?"

"Wow...where to begin? Well, it all began about a month ago when..."

To Be Continued...


	2. Past Not Forgotten

**Day 30**

_"So many journeys may the sun and moon make me again count o'er ere love be done! But woe is me! I am so sick of late, so far from cheer as I am from my former state, that I distrust even myself. Yet though I distrust , discomfort myself...I can never distrust you Ayree...you are my salvation from this damnation!"_

What a tale the young night elf had to tell. First glance at her flawless features...the pale pink skin...the long purple hair...the unique markings on her face...one would never believe the type of hell she had gone through. But for those who could get a little closer, they could see the cracked lips like stone...or the circles of great despair around her eyes. Even the pale pink has lost it's coloring...though as she tells her story...something seems to stir within her...a new found hope possibly.

"So a little under a month ago, you came down into the Depths...alone?" The voice through the wall spoke with a tinge of intrigue.

"Yes...I believe it was about a month ago Dietrich...but my time sense has dulled over all this despair and distress."

With a comforting chuckle, "Heh, understandable."

Dietrich had always been a curious man. Even now, in his mid thirties...he couldn't help his childlike curiosity. Stalara enjoyed this about her newfound companion...even if she only knew him by his voice. Even then...the solid granite walls still muffled it to a mere whisper, but due to her acute hearing...she understood him so well as though he were in the cell with her. She could sense the youth still in his voice...but she could also hear the precision in his voice...like that of a hardened warrior.

"Yes, I came here alone. I had wrote a letter shortly before my departure...but I fear the gnome swindled me and didn't mail it in time."

"Not to sound profound, but do you honestly believe anyone even knows you're gone...or even care for that matter?" Dietrich realized that he was being a bit blunt.

She spoke with a sharpness that caught him completely offguard. "Pardon?!!"

"Sorry, that was wrong of me to say. It's just...the way you made it sound earlier...you kinda disappeared during the time when everyone in your guild was in some wierd war craze going to defend Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, and Alterac Valley...in hopes of great spoils for successful defenses. I have heard of great armor and weapons that have been awarded to heroes of the Alliance...but I can't help but wonder if it is all worth the sacrifices of your fellow man...or woman...I mean...no one seemed to have cared you were gin somewhere dangerous...and now look at you...a prisoner condemned to this hell. There rewards seem to have been more important than one of their own. Sorry...that was out of line on my part...I'll speak on it no further."

She felt her hope slip away again, _"He's right you know...maybe I have just been forgotten...you can't wear me or wield me..." _She thought to herself.

"Hello...Stalara...Stalara Moonglaive?" He was afraid he may have greatly offended her, but was relieved when she responded.

"Oh...sorry...I found myself drifting into slumber..." She lied to him, not wanting him to realize she actually pondered his words. _"No way would they do that...at least not Ayree...she wouldn't forget me...would she...?"_

"I feel you on that...these have been the worst three nights of my life...sleep comes knocking at me too... Anyway, heh, you still haven't told me how you got here. You seem to be a well seasoned hero...I find it hard to believe you could get captured so easily."

Relieved of the topic change...Stalara let out a slight laugh, "Ha...they only wish it were easy...they wouldn't have lost so many of their 'good' men. I came here seeking Cores of Elements and Elemental Fires...both of which seem to be in great abundance here...or at least my experiences here, that's what I have gathered. I've spent a hell of a lot of time in the Depths and Shadowforge...but never as their captive."

"Haha, and probaly not alone."

"Well, no."

"You're such an enigma to me Stalara. Why didn't you get your beloved Ayree to come here with you...or Grandmaster Shaoran...or any of those other people you told me about from Knights Judgement. You wouldn't be in here right now...that's for damn sure."

"I...I...didn't want to disturb them."

"Disturb them from what? Their silly little war games? It's time the Alliance wakes up and realizes that Arathi and Warsong are lost to them...no matter how many times they go there in hopes of granting freedom to the claimed territories...the Horde forces are too strong there... THEY'RE JUST TOO FUCKING STRONG!! HOW MANY MORE MUST DIE FOR THAT HOPELESS CAUSE!!?"

It was Stalara's turn to be taken aback by his Dietrich's sudden outburst. "Dietrich?"

Dietrich managed to calm himself down a bit before he spoke. "I had a family once Stalara...a wife...a child...and my older brother Pylite. My mother and father died during the last war with Deathwing. My father was my mentor...and my mother never left his side. They were the perfect couple...kinda like how it sounds between you and Ayree...the way you speak of her...in such a manner of praise to a goddess."

"What?" Stalara couldn't help but blush.

"Sorry...no matter. As I said, I had a family...they were the world to me...just like how Ayree is to you. Now, as I told you...I am from the lost kingdom of Stromgarde. When that kingdom fell to the orcs and the Sndicate who now inhabit it...my family and I were forced into exile. We made our way to the illustrious Stormwind City in hopes to start anew...but we were quickly recruited into the Knights of the Silver Hand due to our unerring service to the Knights of Stromgarde. All of us were paladins of the holy light...just like our Ancestors before us. We were fine with that, we were proud to fight for our beliefs with the Silver Hand. However, large Horde activity in Arathi Basin and Warsong Gulch concerned King Terenas. He called a huge meeting of the kings and lords of all Alliance territories to discuss what to do. They decided to take volunteers at first and many men and women died. Then the Alliance got desperate and began drafting every able bodied being they could find...including my wife Solstice, my brother Pylite, and my son...Solace. I had already nearly lost my life several times over in Alterac and was nursing a wounded leg when they began the draft...so I was unable to go. However, I had been there...I saw the horrors or war...and my family and I decided to retire from the Silver Hand. We couldn't take anymore of the constant wars that plagued the lands of Kalimdor and Azeroth...but the BASTARDS refused to let us go. Pylite and Solstice were sent to Arathi Basin frontlines...and Solace was sent to Warsong Gulch as a scout. They...they...never came back...and I was alone. So from that day forward...I threw down my crest and walked away from the forthcoming onslaught that would lead into an inevitable armageddon. I've traveled the world for fifty three seasons...evading capture by the Alliance and the Silver Hand to put me on trial for abandoning my post. But one can only run so far...hence the reason I am here now...I am a prisoner of the governing hand who rules this land, because I refused to fight a war I do not believe in."

Stalara could think of nothing to say. She had a lot to take in. She never realized how horribly the lands were controlled by those the call Kings and Lordships. She never had reason to think about it...till now...but even then, she still didn't fully understand it. How could a ruler be so cold and heartless? The family he spoke of...she knew nothing of...for she was unfortunate enough to be without...a family...she had lost them during the Third War when all the Kaldorei saved the World Tree by imbueing it with their own immortality and powers. Her parents were not fortunate enough to walk away from that as the Burning Legion consumed their very essence.

Now was not the time to ponder on her past. Now was the time to try to regain a hold on her future.

"Dietrich...I'm sorry to hear that." Stalara had such a sincerity to her voice that even the most hardened rulers heart would melt.

"Bah...no matter...what was once in past shall soon be forgot in the future. It's my own demons I must battle...not a matter you should concern yourself with. It's not like you can do anything about it. Enough of my ramblings...what is your story...rather...you know why I'm here...but why are you here...after all, you must surely be in your sixtyth season. You seem to have explored more than I."

"Heh...well, I'll warn you now...my story will pale in comparison to yours, but if you really want to know, I'll share my downfall with you."

**To Be Continued...**


	3. Realization Unthought

**Day 33**

_"Most necessary 'tis what we forget to pay ourselves is debt. What to ourselves in passion I propose, the passion ending, doth the purpose lose. The violence of either grief or joy their own enactures with themselves destroy. Where joy most revels grief doth most lament. Grief joys, joy grieves, on slender accident."_

As time passed, Stalara found herself more and more comfortable talking to the stranger without a face on the otherside of the granite wall. The darkness however, was suffocating. The longer she sat in her cell, the harder she found it to breath...the fire and brimstone from the nearby Molten Core seeped through the walls of the Blackrock Depths. And the everlasting darkness that was her only companion before the man deemed Dietrich spoke to her. And now was her time to explain her predicament to this man. Why would a rogue of her sixtyth season fall victim to the damned Anvilrage clan...so foolishly did her youth show to have fallen prey to the imprisonment.

"So...are you gonna explace your situation or am I gonna have to play the guessin game. How did such a well trained warrior as yourself get caught here?"

"Well, as I had already mentioned to you once before...I chose to come to Blackrock by myself."

"Which again was suicide quite honestly."

"I know...but hey...who's tellin the story here Dietrich?"

"Sorry."

"I only done it because I wanted to prove to not only myself, but to Ayree as well that I could do it. I wanted to prove to her without even an ere of doubt that, though she's been there for me all this time...for once, I could be there for her and to prove to all without a shadow of a doubt that I could handle myself out there in the world...and I could help better both her and my future by gettin the both of us in good with Argent Dawn so we could gain passage into one of the most dreaded citadels known in all of Azeroth...though I have heard whispers of great movement near the dark portal in the Blasted Lands...but so far...I've heard only rumors. Nothing has been made quite concrete...but then again, I have been locked up down here for quite a while...so there's no tellin what has been goin on in my time of absence."

"Ah yes...the dreaded Outlands...it is no rumor milady...it has come true. The dark portal has reopened. Armageddon is upon us unless both Horde and Alliance can set aside their differences and come together to stop the inevitable onslaught, but alas...our brothers and sisters can not alow the past wrongs to be buried with our ancestors. The war shall rage on until the lost gods return to the world and bring peace to all."

"What...are you serious?"

"Did you not notice the rapid activity of the Draenei and Blood Elves before you wound up finding yourself here."

"Well, I had noticed their numbers had greatly risen. But then again...they were my furthest of concern...I was still seeking the ever elusive Shadowcraft armor."

"Wow girly, you sure don't seem to keep up with current events to well do you."

"Not really, they bore me too much...and besides...someone of my art...we prefer to keep it that way. I'm ever traveling and really do not concern myself with the here and now aspects of everything. I'm never in one place long enough to burden myself with that."

"I understand that, but that wasn't a here and now deal...that's something that may change the face of the world that we know...Horde and Alliance alike are likely to be obliterated and erased from history."

"Kinda like us right?"

"I don't follow." Dietrich was puzzled by her comment to him.

"Don't you see...we're lost in the folds of history as long as we are lost down here in this hell. No one cares...no one even probaby realizes that we are here...so we remain...lost to this world...what happens to those on the surface...is of no concern to me."

"I can't believe you just said that?"

"Why not? You are the one who has helped me realize that."

"WHAT!!?" Dietrich found himself furious at her placing the blame upon him...till he realized what she meant. "Wait, you mean about the fact no one has come for you...somethin I made mention of a couple ofnights ago?"

"Yes."

"Please Stalara, do not take what I said that night by face value. I know what I said...but you must understand my frustration at how everything has played out for me. Of course I'm gonna have spite toward the surface dwellers who condemned me to my life of damnation to this prison...all because I didn't want to fight their fight. In all truth however, I would much rather remain here, rotting away...then to ever see all those above suffer like I have all my life. No matter what...I love them all...they are my brethren...and I would never wish any misfortune to befall them."

"But, you were so angry at them for placing you under arrest for not wanting to join the war."

"Aye milady. And I still am...but I also understand it is their duty to try and uphold the balance and peace among the Alliance. If they had left me unpunished...it would have done nothing but cause an outcry that the Alliance just can't afford right now...we do not need a large movement f vigilantes to start happening because they allowed so many people to go free though they broke the Creeds set by those before us and those before them. I will serve my time here without trouble...it is my duty. It's only right that I pay for the crimes against the kingdoms that I have committed...but regardless...I still love them all...just as you do Ayree. Mentor or not...you love her Stalara...more than life itself...it's no wonder you put your own life on the line down here for her."

Stalara found herself knocked back into silence...not knowing what to say...what to do...or what to think. Could this man be right...was it possible that the feelings she had for Ayree were much much more than someone should have had for their _'mentor.' _What was this man implyining...this man who didn't even know her...or anything about her? It's impossible...Stalara could not even fathom what he sid...sure he loved her...and everything about her. Her hair...her eyes...her smile...her...her...

Shit...like the fiery Breath of General Drakki...it hit her so hard she stumbled backwards at the realization that Dietrich had just reminded her of. She did love Ayree...with all of her heart and soul. Ayree always rested somewhere in her mind...rather she was asleep or awake. Stalara always found herself thinking of Ayree, even now as she spoke to Dietrich...it was Ayree she envisioned on the other side...her sweet melodic voice soothing her...calming her. Stalara knew it wasn't her...but it did not matter, it was just the thoughts...remembering the happy days...when it was only her...and her beloved Ayree...the woman who had been by her side since her tenth season of roguehood. Most people did not trust the rogues...but not Ayree...she accepted Stalara as who she was...not by the art she had chosen...but as the woman she was and would soon grow to be. And for that...Stalara...truly...loved her. Was that even plausible? Yes...yes it was...there was no wrong in it. Love was love. Stalara as so enraptured by all the thoughts coursing through her mind she arely understood Dietrich when he spoke...snapping her out of her thought.

"Is Ayree worth fighting for Stalara...is she worth living for?"

Without even the slightest hesitation, "YES! Yes she is! She's worth every bit of this hell...just knowing that one day, her and I will be reunited and I will be able to gaze upon her beauty once more...and hear that beautiful voice again...and feel the warmth of her embrace once again. It was by my own foolishness that I allowed myself to be separated from her in the first place...something that I don't expect to be forgiven of. As long as she accepts my most humblest of apologies for leaving her like I did...and if she don't, then that is just another sin that I will have to attune for."

"I may not know this woman myself, but she is very lucky to have someone like you in her life. And with the way you talk of this angel of frost from above...I'm almost sure that she will forgive you for all your foolishness...and will instead just be grateful to have you in her arms again."

"You know...I think you're right."

"Stalara...I know I'm right." Dietrich said with a sly smile.

To Be Continued...


	4. The Memory Remains

**Day 52**

_"This world is not for I, nor 'tis not strange that even my love should with fortunes change. For 'tis question left me yet to prove whether love leads fortune or else fortune love. And hitherto doth love on fortune tend, for who not needs shall lack a friend...a lover."_

Stalara slept, slept deeper than she ever had...deeper than thought possible for the situation she had found herself in, but no matter...she slept. She slept the sleep halfway between dreaming and something else, that eternal slumber from which not even the mightiest and most powerful kings and lords could awake. She slept...knowing that each hour that passed slid her nearer and nearer to her sweet oblivion. While she slept...she dreamed...

_**52 Days Prior**_

_The rain had been strong and the wind nearly ripped the caravan apart or sent it spiraling out of control over the ledges and winding paths that it climbed...but either due to expert control or the carriages...or the mercy of Elune...the caravan never met that grizzly demise. Stalara sat in the rear wagon bundled tight praying every time she felt the unforgiving bumps in the road they traveled. Expecting at any minute her untimely end to come, rather by the horrendous weather they were having or an unlucky run into a Blackrock orc ambush, but to her unimaginable relief...it never happened. Somehow they managed to make safe passage through Redridge...again, she thanked Elune for her protection...that's all that would make sense to Stalara. _

_She herself knew she could handle whatever obstacle and trials that this rag tag band of gypsies and outcasts may have had the misfortune to come across. However, she didn't know how well her companions would fare against the uneven odds. Sure, there were warriors, hunters, and paladins among the numbers...but none really seemed to be to far from their thirtieth seasons...some even seemed new to their arts and styles. That's what worried her. Stalara had seen more than her share of deaths in her sixty seasons...not something she enjoyed to see...and not something she wanted to see anymore. She had seen her loved ones fall...friends...allies. No matter how many times she saw this...the horror of the pain etched in their faces and frozen there for all eternity...was still as unnerving as ever. Her nightmares always reminded her of the hell that is war...all those hands reaching to her...begging her for help when she could offer none. Even the faces of her victims remained in her eyes everytime she dreamed...the torment and agony of the poison coursing through their veins was always present and never-ending...even in their afterlives. Those lifeless eyes...sent chills through her body...but she knew what had to be done...though it was like they were boring through her soul...the very soul that sent them to the abyss. _

_The flash of lightning snapped her from her musing and put her back on alert as she noticed the carriage she was in had came to a halt. She stealthed out the back hoping to get a look at what had caused the sudden stop. At first it looked like nothing was out of the ordinary as she inched closer to the front of the caravan and then heard the inaudible language of something inhuman. To her dismay, she saw in the distance what looked like an orc wielding a staff...holding it to the heavens as he started speaking in what Stalara interpreted as tongues. Then the frightening realization hit her...HE WAS CASTING A SPELL!!_

_Almost as if on queue, a hell storm erupts above the first carriage of the caravan setting it blaze almost immediately. This wasn't good at all. No one here was equipped to handle this...except maybe Stalara. Then...her worst fears were seen...all in a moment, through the gloom were seen...several banners rise into the air, with horde colors waving. With them rose a forest huge of pikes, spears, and swords, and thronging helms, appeared a serried armor and thick array of depth immeasurable. Along with the banners were twice as many men, all unaware of all they were fighting for would be lost to them anyway, within a few short moments. As unequipped as they were, Stalara and her band of lost ones were ready to stand and fight till death. _

_"What away to end, before I've even begun..." She thought to herself._

_The spell caster began chanting another spell, but was quickly silenced by Stalara's ambush. He hit the ground barely able to look back and stare deep into Stalara's darkened eyes through charcoal pupils. She knew that would be yet another image for her to see every night she went to sleep. However, this look was not that of begging...but instead...the fiery hatred found in the pits of hell. Stalara looked away and saw over the hill. Apparently they had yet to make it into the Burning Steppes...they were just on the outskirts of Redridge when they were stopped. She knew they had to fight...she again whispered a silent prayer to Elune as she drew her sword with her offhand and stealthed toward the front of the caravan where the rest already awaited with their weapons brandished and ready for battle. Looking at the site...it reminded her of her time served with the Stormpike Guard in Alterac Valley, but unlike Stormpike...these men and women were not hardened veterans...though they may have served some time in Arathi Basin and Warsong Gulch...but would that be enough to prep themselves for the oncoming assault? They were about to find out._

_Hell, fire, and brimstone!! The bloody, bloody fools didn't realize what they were up against as they charged the enemy forces. The rag tag band she traveled with stood no chance...she knew this...but nobody was listening. Stalara could tell by their wears that those orcs were all casters...and they were all casting in unison. It was looking very grim for her party. Flame shot through the white clouds and the air itself turned into a searing hell._

_The floors of the wagons shook so violently they ripped apart beneath the unlucky passengers who still rested in them! Along the path they traveled, Stalara saw the sky turning red as she looked up! And as for the unfortunate travelers who had woke just moments before, saw the sun setting in the north before the wind burned their cheeks and cracked their weapons and armor because of the raging inferno! Their eyes began to melt as the flesh was consumed and they felt their bones cracking apart with the sudden change in temperature!_

_The hellish wind tore through the caravan. Within seconds, everything was burning. Trees became pillars of fire, and the horses straps became whipping tendrils of flame. The wind turned the wooden walls of the wagons into rippling sheets of fire. Birds cooked in the air and fell into pools of melting asphalt._

_The wagon Stalara had rested in, its walls turned red, then along with the little view window blew out hitting the ground as nothing more than ash. In moments, jets of flame whistled through the floorboards. And in the first aid wagon where the sick and wounded from the journey were cared for, should've cared more. Then the cart of flame collapsed on them. _

_The wagon where the Night Elves in the party took time to pray to Elune, walls blistered from the heat. The cloth covers on some of the carts burned where the wind touched them. The symbol of Elune that hung on the door to her cart of worship fell burning to a blackening ground. In seconds, the dry wood of the cart exploded in an imitation of the holocaust around it sending Stalara and five others spiraling through the air into a large rock formation overlooking Lakeshire in the distance._

_Stalara could only barely open her eyes in time to see millions of burning fragments from the caravans carts and wagons raining down on the quaint little town of Lakeshire, igniting what the winds had yet to touch. She then to her utmost disgust saw the flesh felt off of two of her comrades...and dwarven hunter and an Elven druid. Her own clothing and armor had begun to singe and crack, but so far she had been lucky...barely managing to avoid the area in the effect of the spell. She had always wondered what would happen if every mage and warlock cast their most powerful fire spell in the same place at once, but she never even imagined in her wildest dreams that she would find out first hand...nor did she ever want to see it again as the hell continued raining down upon the small caravan. Stalara instinctively evaded a falling tree of fire as she got lost in thought and despair._

_All who were left of the caravan tried to find sanctuary, but it was all for naught. They found themselves fighting the searing wind that made their skin feel as though it were on fire. The air around them roared as if the world of Azeroth itself were dying. Fire rolled across the sky and the air itself was too thick to breathe as several of them fell to the ground asphyxiated. Stalara's already haunted eyes bore witness to many children in the caravan dropping and breathing their last breath because of that, and even to her utmost horror...one of the pregnant humans she was traveling with also fell to that atrocious end. Close behind was a great mass of flame. Harnesses melted into bubbling black ooze that dripped flame. It was as though they were running through Hell itself._

_Flame rolled from wagon to wagon, cart to cart, and the air choked with rolling black haze. The light no longer seemed to come from the sun, but hundred foot pillars of fire that burned._

_Stalara found herself frozen in fear as she slipped into her past remembering a time just like this when she was nothing more than a child...it was the day her parents ceased to exist on the physical realm and crossed into Elune's realm. The heat...the chaos...all bared an uncanny resemblance to that dreary day all those years ago...and she felt the rage swell up inside her just as it did on that dreadful day as well. It was the hand of a human child...that couldn't be much older than five winters...grabbing and pulling at her crimson cape to jolt her back to where she was._

_The voice was weak and barely above a whisper, "Please...help...me...and my...sis..." _

_Stalara looked back only to see the worst horror she had ever seen. A charred hand hung loosely from her cape and what looked to be the blackened remains of a young girl who didn't have a hand any longer, turn to ash before her very eyes._

_She cracked...her eyes blazed red as she let out a vigorous roar...so fierce. The rage had finally consumed her entire being. From her Darkmantle belt she drew a throwing dagger and sent it soaring into the throat of another of the orcs who started this hell. The dagger ripped clean through its throat and impaled, what looked to be a troll hunter, in the left eye who had the misfortune of being behind the orc. The charred hand fell from Stalara's cape and dissipated into ash as it struck the ground._

_Stalara held her silence no more. "ELUNE WILL GET HER VENGEANCE, AND I AM JUST THE SPARK TO LIGHT THE FIRE OF A MUCH MORE COMPLICATED PROPHECY! ELUNE'S FURY WILL BE UNLEASHED UPON THE PATHETIC SOULS OF THE HORDE, WHO CHEER THESE DEATHS ON!! THIS IS WHEN HEAVEN AND HELL WILL COLLIDE!!! THIS IS THE END!!!!_

_Stalara was fortunate enough to not be the only survivor. The caravan seemed to still be thirty strong, which still wasn't great odds against what looked to be an army of seventy five horde...trolls, orcs, taurens, undead, and even what looked to be dwarves of Blackrock Depths. Stalara didn't even care anymore...she knew she was going to die...but it wasn't goin to be without an all out war. She drew her trusty Shadowstrike Dagger and in her off hand she wielded the Meteor Blast Sword. This was goin to be her last stand...but not without avenging all her fallen comrades...and her family. Kill or be killed was the only thoughts coursing through her mind and her eyes still beamed of crimson. She began her charge...unaware that her words had seemed to renew the hope of the twenty nine other survivors who followed closely behind her. _

_The horde found themselves in awe of the odd change of events. Thirty Alliance dared challenge the awesome force of the Horde...but before having much time to think on it, a sword of fire sliced clean through an undead warlock as Stalara hovered over her holding the burning red sword she had stole from a dragon in the Sunken Temple months prior. Before the Tauren Shaman nearest the fallen undead had a chance to throw down a totem, he found his heart pierced by a dagger and the vision of a blood covered maniacal smile upon Stalara's face. Thatvision would be the last thing he would take to Hell with him._

_An arrow whizzed past her ear...nearly clipping the tip of it. The grunt she heard behind her told her the arrw was not meant for her. She turned to see a troll drop to his knees clutching his chest where the arrow struck home. With a wry smile, Stalara walked over to him. The fear filled his eyes as she she took his head. The sizzle of the catarizing flesh almost made her laugh as his head rolled to the ground with a thud. It was like the eyes were piercing her soul...so she brought her foot down upon it...to most, the crunching of the skull was sickening...but not Stalara...it seemed to bring a sense of joy to her. The eyes popped like a bug...with a small puddle of oozing blood. His brain oozed out of the ears._

_'Like a pimple." She jested as she wiped her foot on the fallen trolls tattered cloak._

_She looked back at a dwarven hunter who was readying another arrow. She smiled with a sign of gratitude toward him. He nodded in approval before letting lose another into the head of an orc. It ripped through and tore the brain of the orc from it's skeletal prison...lodging itself into the throat of another troll. It was such a beautiful sight to Stalara...such a great feel of accomplishment. Aftera second she took time to survey the battle that raged. All and all...her side seemed to be faring well enough. She did notice that they seem to have lost five more...but the other side seemed to have lost twenty five of their own. She kicked aside the dead tauren ho didn't expect the ambush and walked into the midst of the fray._

_High upon the mountain, a priest looked down on the insuing battle. Those were some of his best fighters down below...able fighters and warriors...being dropped by a small caravan of...of...'children.' He snarled in disgust. Father Rurik had seen many wars in his life...but never had he seen a company of Horde...killed by mere gypsies, harlots, and outcasts. They must have had one hell of a military genius in their midsts to have survived this long against his army. He knew what he had to do. He turned his back and entered the cave behind him._

_Stalara fought with the utmost power...almost as if she were driven by something...or someone. Her approach to this battle was so garrish. From her back she drew her Howitzer she had stolen from Cannon Master Willey in one of her trips to Stratholme. She shot a mini cannonball through a Blackrock dawrf's chest...punching a hole through it and taking most of the vital organs out his back with it. Blood flowed like a waterfall from his chest as he collapsed upon the ground at her feet. A gun like that was only meant for long range assaults...but instead, her skill with it enabled her to use it somewhat effectively even point blank._

_A sea of blood flowed upon the battlefield. Dead orcs, trolls, tauren, dwarves, humans, gnomes, and even elves littered the ground. Undead were finally given their final peace. Stalara stood with about only six survivors...the horde were weakend down to twenty four. The battle raged for far too long and exhaustion threatened to finish off Stalara and her side. Blood from open wounds and her enemy had made her a scarlet red. Her hair was matted and her weapons dull from the fight. She could see that even the horde side was suffering as well...more so because of surprise and fear she thought. They had taken quite a large sum of casualties from this rag tag band of strangers. No one in the horde could recollect a time that they had been so severely decimated by a group of 'children' like the last few hours. But they weren't about to give up. They were gonna kill every last one of those Alliance scum that stood across the battlefield from them._

_Stalara rallied the remaining group together to prepare what was most definitely their final assault. She knew and her party knew...seven to twenty four...horde favor...they weren't walkin away alive...but tht was the risk they were willing to take. They fought this long, why stop now. They drew their weapons. She readied the charge._

_"FOR THE A..."_

_Her shout was cut off by an immense pain ringing through her ears. An ear spliiting howl sounded in the distance. The brief rumble disturbed the contemplation of both sides. Stalara looked to the sky. A second, more menacing runble set her every muscle taut. A massive shadow covered their surroundings. Another, closer, ear shattering roar shook the vicinity a a force akin to a tornado ripped at the landscape. _

_Stalara was greeted by a hellish site as she continued staring into the sky. A dragon the color of a raging inferno filled the sky above. The world became fire once more as the crimson behemoth descended...crushing all that remained of the horde beneath its massive talons. Stalara knew what she was looking at._

_It came as a whisper, "Drakkisath..."_

_His coal black eyes set her soul ablaze. The treetops above her burst into flames as Drakki oated the landscape. Burning foliage dropped before her, striking three members of her party...immediately turning them to ash. With one taloned paw he scooped up another and dragged the poor hunter to it's horrific maw...swallowing him whole. Stalara found herself standing alone with only a night elf hunter...and a human mage who had an uncanny resemblance to...to Ayree. Before she realized it, Drakkin hd back handed her, sending her spiraling into a tree...splintering it with the force of the impact she had from the backhand. Stalara felt herself slip out of consciousness._

_Stalara was out for what seemed like hours, when in all truth it was only fifteen minutes or so. It was the soft and angelic voice of a young human who woke her up._

_"Hey, hey Stalara. Get up. He's already taken Solarna...come on, we gotta get out of here."_

_Stalara's eyes fluttered open, but her vision was blurred...but she could vaguely make out the visage that was looking at her with tears streaming from her eyes._

_"Please, please wake up."_

_Stalara could have sworn the voice was that off Ayree's_

_"Ayree...Ayree...is that you..."_

_"Huh...no, my name is..."_

_Stalara shoved the young mage to the ground shielding her with her own body as another burst of flame almost enveloped her. Luckily...it was a weak blast so Stalara's armor was able to resist the brunt of the fire. The mage didn't know what to think. This elf had just saved her life._

_"GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!" Stalara yelled to the mage. _

_"But..."_

_"GO NOW!! There's no need in both of us dying."_

_"You don't have to..."_

_Stalara put the tip of the blade to the mage's throat._

_"NOW!!"_

_The mage quickly turned and started to rush off...but she hadn't got very far before flame enveloped her, leaving nothing but ash in the breeze. Stalara watched in horror. And the only visions in her mind were that of Ayree...burning...dying...calling out to her to save her..._

_"AYREE!!!"_

_The dead mage was not her beloved Ayree...but all sense of reality had long been dead in Stalara since this battle had begun. Her own sanity was even in question._

_"YOU BASTARD!!! YOU KILLED AYREE!! I WILL NOT FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!!"_

_Brandishing both her weapons she charged General Drakkisath. She threw a coule of her throwing axes wihich of course bounced off the armorlike scales of Drakki, not phasing him even the slightest. Just as she got upon him, she felt the searing heat of holy fire blast her in the back...and then darkness."_

**Present Day**

Stalara awoke in a cold sweat. The same nightmare had been haunting her for weeks. She told Dietrich all about it on several occassions. Reliving her capture sure didn't allow her a restful sleep. Everytime she had the dream, it got more and more vivid. Of course, all she could think off was how bad she felt for that young mage who hadn't even made it to her prime. It saddened her...and made her long for Ayree that much more. Was Ayree okay...she sure hoped so. If something hapened to Ayree in her absence...she truly could never forgive herself...but she trusted in Ayree's ability, just as Ayree trusted in hers. Stalara leaned against the cold wall and cried...thoughts of Ayree flooding her mind...

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
